The steamboat doesn’t have a single “maker,” but the person most widely credited is Robert Fulton , who built the first commercially successful steamboat, the Clermont, in 1807.

Quick Scoop: Who “Made” the Steamboat?

  • Robert Fulton is usually named as the inventor because his boat, the Clermont (also called the North River Steamboat), was the first to work reliably as a business on the Hudson River in 1807.
  • Earlier pioneers helped create the idea before Fulton:
    • John Fitch built and ran working steamboats on the Delaware River in the 1780s, though his designs were not commercially successful.
* William Symington in Scotland built the Charlotte Dundas, an early practical steamboat used on canals.

* James Watt improved the steam engine in 1769, making steam power efficient enough to use on boats.

So, if you’re answering a quiz or doing homework, the usual short answer is: Robert Fulton made (invented) the steamboat —but he built on the work of earlier inventors like John Fitch, William Symington, and James Watt.

In simple terms: many people contributed, but Fulton’s Clermont was the first big success that changed river travel and trade.

TL;DR: Robert Fulton is most often credited with making the steamboat, thanks to his successful 1807 vessel Clermont, though several earlier inventors helped lay the groundwork.